


the strongest webs

by spaceinvaderz



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid
Genre: Gen, but they are there, ethan said fuck capitalist lives, ethan uses he/they, frank redemption arc, kind of. more like "frank realizes the consequences of his actions", like it's basically just a three way conversation about diverging timelines and stuff, tgwldm characters don't feature in this but there are References, the fosters don't actually appear until the epilogue, this whole thing is probably so ooc i'm sorry, very dialogue heavy, webby likes puns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23683600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spaceinvaderz/pseuds/spaceinvaderz
Summary: ethan and frank's adventure in the sort-of afterlife; or, how ethan learned to stop worrying and love the randomness of the universe; or, a pile of headcanons coalesced into some semblance of a plot
Relationships: Ethan Green & Hannah Foster, Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Lex Foster/Ethan Green
Comments: 3
Kudos: 36





	1. ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ethan dies. but not really.

_ “I’ll get you to California, Lex. Then maybe you don’t gotta cry so much no more.” _

It hurts. All of him hurts. And he doesn’t want to, he’s still got to get to Hannah and make sure Lex is okay but he’s so tired and it’s probably not gonna hurt if he closes his eyes for a minute, is it?

He takes a ragged breath and shuts them, and his world erupts in brilliant white. He hears a sucking noise. And suddenly he’s somewhere else.

Everything is white. As far as he can see, there’s only white. His pain is gone. As if it’s been sucked out of him. 

He looks at his arms, which should definitely have some bruising on them, right? 

Not really.

There’s some green staining on his arms, almost like paint or something. He touches one of the stains, gingerly. It feels sticky. Kinda gross, actually. He rubs his stained fingertips on his shirt. As far as he can tell, he isn’t hurt at all. Not physically, anyway. Whatever sucked out his pain may as well have sucked out his injuries, too.

He looks around. Pure whiteness. He can’t tell if he’s inside or outside--he can’t see any walls. He walks forward for a little while (what’s he standing on, anyway?) but nothing changes. To the outside observer, it looks like he’s at the same place he started. He has a feeling nothing would change if he walked forever.

_ Hello, Ethan Green,  _ speaks a voice from the sky.

Ethan jumps and swears.  _ I’m sorry for startling you. Welcome. _

As Ethan watches, eight gashes slowly split open the sky (or roof? or wall? he still doesn’t know what this place’s deal is), glowing bright, warm red.

They’re looking at him.

Ethan may not have gotten the best grades in school or anything, but he’s not stupid. And he’s watched enough TV to know that something with red eyes is basically never friendly. He slowly backs away. “How do you know my name?”

_ I can see many things, Ethan. Besides, Hannah talks about you frequently. _

“You know Hannah? W--wait. Are you--”  __

_ I believe you’ve put the pieces together. _

“I thought you were--” He stops. Maybe it’s rude to call some sort of all-powerful being imaginary. 

_ Made up. Understandable,  _ says Webby. _ But that’s not true, Ethan. I am very real. And I control more than you know. _

“Okay, so first off, where am I? What is this place? Are Lex and Hannah okay?”

_ Lex and Hannah are alright. As for you...you are in a space in between. Your injuries were very severe. Severe enough that, had I not intervened, your soul would be out of even my reach. _

“So I’m...dead.” 

He expects to feel more. Shock, anger, disappointment. Instead, he only feels numb. He failed Hannah and Lex. He promised them he’d get them to California, and instead, he’s dead in a dirty fucking Hatchetfield mall. So much for MIA.

_ You’re not dead in the traditional sense. I saw what would happen here today. I knew that someone’s blood would be spilled, even if it wasn’t yours. So I spun a…“web,” of sorts, around the Hatchetfield Mall. Your soul is now residing in the Black and White, Ethan. More specifically, my domain.  _

“Sorry, Webby, but I’m still reading that as ‘dead,’” says Ethan, who, space spider notwithstanding, is starting to get a little annoyed.

_ If only you knew how hard it was to die in Hatchetfield. _

“I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.”

_ I’m sorry to be so vague. I can’t really explain at length at the moment. We’re expecting someone else to enter shortly, and I really don’t feel like repeating myself. Basically, you’re not dead, but you’re not alive. You’re kind of like...a ghost. But you can’t interact with the living world. _

“Why not? You can.”

_ I can only speak through Hannah. And I can do so because this is my home domain. I’m attuned to its relationship with your own home dimension, but you, I’m afraid, are not. _

“Okay, I guess. Can you...can you at least tell her hello from me?”

_ I’m truly sorry, Ethan.  _ Webby does sound regretful.  _ I wish I could. But I can’t risk drastically altering the timeline like that.  _

Somehow, he knew that would be the answer. But it doesn’t make it hurt any less, and he finds himself snapping, “If you knew that all of this was gonna happen, why didn’t you do anything?”

He feels tears sting his eyes. “My girlfriend and her little sister could die in there. You saw this, and, what, you didn’t think it was worth a heads up?”

_ I can guarantee you that this time around, Hannah and Lex will not die in Hatchetfield Mall. And for what it’s worth, I did try to warn you that things were going to get badder. _

He remembers this morning. Hannah being scared and upset. Fears that he realizes weren’t just the fears of a little kid’s night terrors. 

“I guess you did,” he murmurs. Another thing Webby said sinks in. “What do you mean ‘this time around?’”

_ Life has many paths. Today, the one you all followed has ensured that Lex and Hannah leave this mall alive. Everyone else...their future is not so, uh, black and white, if you’ll excuse a joke in poor taste. _

“I still don’t get it,” mutters Ethan.

_ I will endeavor to do a better job at explaining. You’d better step back, though. Our next visitor is on their way. _

Despite still being very, very confused, Ethan steps back. 

The air a few feet away starts sucking itself inwards, like someone’s puckered lips. Something that’s partially green and partially white and partially red is forced through with an explosion of air outwards. Ethan stumbles as air blows against his face. When the wind settles and the figure is still, Ethan groans. “Oh, for the love of--all the people in the damn mall, and the one that shows up has to be  _ him. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i make an ao3 account solely to publish this? i will neither confirm nor deny that. anyway, three guesses as to why webby's eyes are red--


	2. celadon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one is kinda short

Frank Priceley’s eyes snap open. “I’m alive! I’m--oh.”

He surveys the white that makes up everything and everywhere. “Maybe not.”

His eyes land on Ethan. “Oh, hey. You’re the boyfriend.”

 _"'The boyfriend'"_ , growls Ethan, “has a name.”

“You don’t look so good,” Frank says bluntly.

“Neither do you.”

Actually, considering Ethan’s wounds healed themselves somehow, Frank probably looks worse for wear out of the two of them. Still wearing a rumpled Toy Zone uniform, he looks like he’s shaking slightly. His arms have rope burns on them. More troubling than any of those, however, is the greenish goo slowly dripping across his neck.

“Dude,” Ethan says, “you’ve kinda got something on your--” he indicates his general neck area.

“Yeah, my _throat just got slit,_ what do you THINK is--oh, ew, _gross!_ ”

Frank swipes his hand across his neck and gathers some of the gunk onto it. “What _is_ this stuff?”

“I don’t know,” Ethan says snappily, “some kind of green shit?”

_Not exactly. Well, sort of, but there’s more to it than that._

Webby’s eyes open again. Frank scrambles backwards. “ _JESUS CHRIST, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?_ ”

“Frank,” Ethan says in the voice one might use when talking to a small child, “meet Webby.”

_Hello, Frank. Welcome to the Black and White._

“I have,” Frank says, “so many questions.”

“That’s one thing we can agree on, at least,” mutters Ethan.

“So. Uh. Webby. Am I dead? Because I’ll level with you, this is actually nicer than what I expected.”

Webby makes a sound like a sigh. _No. But you’re not alive. You’re in the Black and White, a space between dimensions. No, you can’t interact with Earth._

Ethan remembers something with a jolt. “Wait, Frank, if you’re dead--”

_Not dead._

“--I GET IT, WEBBY--what happened to Toy Zone? Where’s Lex? Is she safe? Did the Wiggly creeps get to her?”

“She’s fine. I mean, she was last time I saw her. And she’s not here, so…” Frank gestures to their general surroundings. “But I mean, she’s also in the custody of a crazy toy cult that murdered me ten minutes ago, so I don’t know if she’s _safe._ ”

“She’s _what?”_ He turns in the direction of Webby’s eight eyes. “You said she’d be fine!”

_And she will be. She doesn’t have what they’re looking for._

“Neither did I, and that didn’t save me,” mutters Frank.

“She might not have what they’re looking for, but Hannah does,” yells Ethan. “And now that I’m here, she’s gonna be all alone--she’s just a kid!”

“Your girlfriend’s sister _stole_ a Toy Zone Wiggly?!?”

“Oh, is _that_ what you’re worried about? Thrilled to know you have your _priorities_ in order!”

_Hannah is not alone, Ethan. She has me._

“And are you gonna do anything to help her, or just stare at us with your creepy eyes and talk about what you can’t do?”

_I may be speaking to you, but I am guiding Hannah at the same time. I can do many things at once. I’m sorry. I understand that this is frightening, and you believe I’m not taking this seriously, but you must listen to me. The wheels are turning. We may not have much time before they stop somewhere new. I--oh, no._

“What happened?”

_They’ve entered already. No, this one is wrong. Two doors, not one…_

“Can you translate this?” Frank asks Ethan.

_I’m sorry, but it appears we now have a time limit. I really did hope there’d be a way we’d be able to fix things, but...I only hope you’ll remember this next time around._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i do not know how to write dialogue. which is probably something i should have considered when writing a dialogue-heavy story


	3. divergences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this was originally going to be two chapters but i couldn't find a good way to split it off so instead you get one very long chapter

_ I’ll explain as much as I can while you’re here,  _ Webby begins.  _ The doll you two know as Wiggly is no innocent toy, as you may have guessed. He is an ancient evil, one that I and my allies have been trying to fight for generations. _

Frank snorts. “I knew it.”

Ethan stares at him. “What do you mean, you  _ knew it?" _

“What? Those little things are terrifying. I just sell them. I don’t have to like them.”

“What? No. I mean, yes, they’re creepy. But you’re an adult. I thought all of the adults wanted a Wiggly. Isn’t that their gimmick?”

_ You’re mostly there, Ethan. Every company needs its consumers, its producers...and its distributors. Frank doesn’t want a Wiggly because it’s not his job to want a Wiggly. He’s trying to get rid of them--trying to sell them, so they get to more people and eventually spread across the Earth, as was their goal all along.  _

“So he’s like a breeder.”

“I'm a _what?_ ”

_ I’m not sure what that is. But essentially, Frank’s role is as important to the American assembly line as those shoppers fighting over that little dickhead--ahem, I mean, the Tickle-Me-Wigglys. That, by the way, is why your greens are different. _

Frank looks up. “What did you say?”

_ The green goo--the sticky substance that replaced your wounds when you entered here. _

“No, I gathered that,” the impatient former store manager responds. “It’s just--the kid said that to me once. Lex’s sister. Lex came to work with her once and she looked at me and said  _ your green is different.  _ I thought she was just, you know, doing her weird little thing, but she...how’d she do that?”

_ Oh, I remember that day. You’ll find, Mr. Pricely, that Hannah is much more than a ‘crazy little gremlin who should keep her hands off your merchandise.’ _

Frank eyes Ethan and is sure that if looks could kill he’d be twice--maybe triple--the amount of dead he already is.

“Well, things said or not said by certain parties about certain other parties notwithstanding, what does that mean, anyway?” Frank touches a hand to his neck, which is, in fact, still stained bright green.

_ This substance--or, as you two referred to it, ‘green shit’--is a physical representation of Wiggly’s touch. Where he has influenced you. Your causes of quote-unquote “death” bleed green because both events occurred because of his influence. Ethan’s is lighter, because he wasn’t previously involved in the process of distributing Wigglies. Frank’s is thicker--actually, we’re lucky you two weren’t in opposing positions. The amount of injuries you’d be secreting from...my part of this dimension can only support so much of his power. We’re opposing forces on the basest of levels--even this much of him here is...ugh. _

Somehow, Frank and Ethan feel their surroundings shudder.

Matter-of-fact again, Webby changes topics smoothly.  _ Which is another reason we don’t have much time. We’d better finish talking before this timeline collapses on us.  _

“Before this timeline does  _ what  _ now?” yelps Ethan.

_ As hard to believe as this may be, this isn’t the first time Hatchetfield has faced a disaster of this magnitude. Look back. You may find you remember. Blue where there should be red. Everyone singing in stolen voices. A mysterious meteor… _

Ethan takes in a breath, sharply. As Webby speaks, his brain floods with pictures--images that were locked somewhere and just now released all at once, like a dam breaking. “I’ve died before,” he breathes. “There was that Starbucks cashier who was--they were  _ singing,  _ and then they put their hands around my neck and--”

_ Not just you, Ethan. Everyone in Hatchetfield was wiped out. Total destruction. I had to reset you all.  _

“Reset us?”

_ Time is constantly branching off from itself--creating new possibilities with every flap of a butterfly’s wing, every sneeze and whisper and step. The Hatchetfield that perished in their own apotheosis was only one version of Hatchetfield. I managed to essentially move you and your town to a parallel dimension where the meteor never landed here. But it would appear that my old enemy has arisen to take its place as your next challenger. With your human president’s decision to bomb his domain in the Black and White, I can see no outcome where this timeline does not go the way of its predecessor. _

“I have so many questions about what you just said,” Ethan states. “But I’m just gonna start with one. You said Wiggly lives in the Black and White. I thought that’s where  _ we  _ are.”

_ The Black and White is more like two places. In case you haven’t noticed, there isn’t a lot of black around here. _

“Really. I could have sworn you were going for the gothic look,” deadpans Frank.

_ I rule over this section as Hatchetfield’s protector. Wiggly rules the other half as its assailant. We’re perfectly balanced, but it means we’re destined to always clash. Unless one of us can overtake the other, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon. _

“Okay, now  _ I  _ have a question,” says Frank. “If you can see the future, why didn’t you call up your child prophet hotline and say  _ hey heads up you’re about to be overrun with the stuffed toys from hell? _ Or, you know,  _ not  _ bring us to a dimension where that’s a problem in the first place?”

_ Even I cannot see every outcome, Frank. Resetting is like rolling a die with infinite sides. You don’t know where it’s going to land. All you can do is hope for the best and do what you can with what you get. _

“Besides,” Ethan grumbles, “not like you did anything to stop Wiggly from mindscrewing basically everyone in your toy store.”

“I set regulations! I tried to stop them from taking the Wigglies! What did  _ you  _ do, if you’re going to act so high and mighty about it?”

“I was trying to save someone I care about,” growls Ethan, his voice rising in volume. “But people like you don’t care about anyone, do you? All you care about is what’ll make you the most money!”

“That’s just  _ blatantly  _ not true,” retorts Frank. “I care about  _ so many  _ things other than that. Like. You know. I can’t think under pressure! But I guarantee I do!”

Ethan buries his face in his hands. “Jesus. You’re  _ worse  _ than those shoppers, because at least they knew how to want something for the sake of wanting it. You’re so far up capitalism’s ass you couldn’t find your way out with a map!”

“You little--”

“The world’s had enough of people like you for hundreds of years, and everybody knows it but you. You work Lex so hard I sometimes have to shake her to make sure she doesn’t fall asleep while driving, and she still can’t afford medicine to keep Hannah from crying herself awake at night. You’re an asshole to Hannah--you’re an asshole to  _ everyone,  _ except when you want something from them. But you’re no better than us, you know. You’re never gonna get out of this town, just like the rest of us. You’re not gonna be the next Jeff Bezos or whoever-the-fuck, Frank. Every dimension or timeline or whatever, you’re always gonna be unfulfilled and lonely because you chose to sell your soul to a system that genuinely couldn’t give less of a  _ shit _ about you.”

Even Webby is stunned into silence.

Frank laughs, shakily. “You’ve got  _ balls,  _ kid. I--actually, I don’t think I can reply to that. I’m gonna go--go stand in a corner for a little while.”

He looks around. “Or a vaguely corner-ish thing. Or the idea of a corner.”

_ And normally I would let you do so, but we don’t have enough time. Hatchetfield as you know it is starting to fall apart, and there’s one more thing you must know. When I chose to watch over Hatchetfield by appearing to Hannah for the first time, there was a reason I chose to do it in the form of a spider. Spiders weave webs. Strong ones. Every fiber is part of a great and glamorous whole that is stronger than the sum of its parts. A single filament is subject to every gust and breeze that blows its way, but a web is built to hold. And they can be found anywhere--in places forgotten, or lost, or dark. Spiders survive. They survive because they find strength in connection.  _

_ You two are filaments in Hatchetfield’s web. In my web. It is your duty to hold strong against those who would try to break you--be they paranormal, extraterrestrial, interdimensional, or from your own world, sometimes the most terrifying of all. Separate, you will always know you are lacking. No matter how many times I reset your world, nothing can change if you stay broken. You must rely on each other. Together, you stand a chance. _

The entire space rumbles, and both of the somewhat-ghosts stumble.  _ We’d better wrap this up,  _ says Webby.  _ Ethan. One more thing. _

He turns his head to those eight glowing eyes. Where once the red lights seemed threatening, they’re already starting to feel comfortingly familiar. “Yeah?”

_ I know that sometimes you feel the world is against you. But take heart. Sometimes you’ll find allies in the unlikeliest of places. I have a team of special executives who fight for that very purpose--they combat the dark so that the good do not stand alone in the light. _

“What, like the Secret Service or something?”

_ Sort of like that. I doubt you’d have heard of them. Not much information gets leaked about them to the public. Not a peep. _

“I’ll...keep that in mind. Uh, Webby?”

_ Yes, Ethan? _

“Thanks.”

_ Of course. _

The whiteness rumbles again, stronger this time. Ethan loses his balance and falls to his knees. Frank offers him a hand.

“Uh, thanks,” Ethan murmurs. “Look, about that whole thing...what I said...you’re not all that bad. Just like seventy-five percent of that. You know. Could be worse.”

He’s sort of babbling by the end, but Frank shrugs. “If I had the option to cuss out an authority figure with no consequences when I was seventeen, I’m pretty sure I’d have taken it.”

“I’m eighteen.”

They turn to face Webby one last time.  _ It was nice to have you both here. I feel sorry that you won’t remember it. _

“Wait, what?” 

_ I can’t have you remembering previous resets once I move you over--muddles the timelines. I wish I didn’t have to. But rest assured, I will remember you. And I hope that some small part of today stays with you. Go forward and join together. Maybe we’ll get it right next time.  _

“Webby? Wait--”

Ethan reaches his hand out, even though he knows it’s futile. But there’s a sucking sound and all of a sudden he’s falling--falling into black, so dark after so much white. There’s pain for a few seconds, and then there’s nothing at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just really love the idea of two elder gods sniping at each other from across dimensions like edgy teenagers because they can't actually do anything to each other physically. also, ethan uses they/them in the epilogue, heads up


	4. epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> what happens after the reset?

Ethan approaches Lex, leaning against the back wall of Toy Zone. Smoke drifts throughout the mall parking lot. “Hey, Lexie. Hiya, Banana.” They ruffle Hannah’s hair. “Ready for a mall day?”

Lex winces. “God. Ethan, I’m really sorry. Turns out I’ve gotta work a double shift today. Get this--Frank’s not coming in. His excuse was the dumbest thing ever, too--something about a weird fever dream or something. I mean, this is  _ Frank  _ we’re talking about. When I told him I was running a temperature of 102, he told me to  _ walk it off.  _ I’m just lucky Alice was able to come in on short notice. But long story short, we’ve still got too few hands in there. I’ve gotta take a rain check. I’m so sorry. The universe’s just decided to be a piece of shit today, I guess.”

Ethan envelopes Lex in a hug. She smells faintly of smoke and coffee. “It’s all good, Lex. I get it. Do what you gotta do. Look, I can still take Hannah--we’ll have fun, right?”

The last part is directed at Hannah, who nods. 

Lex lets go of Ethan. “You don’t have to do that. Really.”

“It’s not a problem! C’mon, Banana. We can get frozen yogurt while your sister works for a little while. Does that sound like a good plan?”

Hannah nods once again, pulling on one of her braids. 

Lex looks apprehensive, but the expression on her face slowly gives way to a soft smile. “Thanks, babe. Oh, and when I’m done, remind me to tell you about the thing that happened with Grace Chastity. You know, she was in my lab group last year in Physics? Anyway. It can wait.” She places a kiss on Ethan’s cheek, and another on Hannah’s forehead. “See you guys soon.”

Ethan turns to Hannah. “Alright. You wanna head inside?”

Hannah is staring at Ethan with eyes wide and bright. “You saw her. You went into the light and you rolled the dice and you made a path to somewhere new,” she says, almost reverently. “Webby says you did a lot of brave things.”

Ethan chuckles a bit. “Well, tell Webby thanks, but I’m not sure what she’s talking about. You sure your sister hasn’t been telling you stories, Banana?”

Hannah shakes her head vigorously. “Lexy’s stories are different. They’ve all got happy endings. But Webby says we haven’t made our happy ending yet. We’ve gotta work on it. Together.”

She slips her small hand into Ethan’s. They walk into the mall side by side. “I won’t get lost this time,” Hannah says. “Webby thinks we should stick together.”

Ethan smiles. “Tell Webby that I think that’s a pretty good plan.”

“Hey! Wait up!”

Ethan and Hannah turn. Lex pants, out of breath from running to catch up. “So. Turns out the universe may be on my side after all. Either that or reality’s collapsing, cause  _ Frank just gave me the fuckin’ day off. _ ” She waves her phone in Ethan’s face, where a chain of text messages sits.

“Are we talking about the same guy here?” asks Ethan. “Your boss.  _ Your  _ boss. He’s just...letting you leave? Who’s running Toy Zone?”

“Closed for the day,” announces Lex, throwing her arms to the sides for dramatic effect. “Look. Yes, it’s weird. Insanely so. But I’m not gonna question a good thing, okay? C’mon, Banana. I hear you were promised frozen yogurt.”

Hannah beams, and takes Lex’s hand in her other hand. “I’m glad you’re here. Three in the web is even better than two.”

Lex smiles. “I’m glad you’re here, too, sweetie.” Her eyes meet Ethan’s. “Both of you.”

And they go forward, together, into an uncertain future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> frank got fuckin. christmas caroled. a black friday carol. he's probably gonna revert back to normal in a couple days but the fosters get one (1) break in the mean time. i just wanted to get this out there tbh...hope you all enjoyed reading it like i enjoyed writing it (most of the time)


End file.
